WHEREAS upon the withdrawal, death or incapacity of a duly nominated candidate in a local government election, the Local Government Act does not effectively enable the Chief Elections Officer to formally notify voters of withdrawal, death or incapacity of such candidate; AND WHEREAS under the current provisions of the Local Government Act, such candidate in a local government election could conceivably receive a sufficient number of valid votes to be declared elected, thereby necessitating a by-election: Therefore be it resolved that UBCM request the Province of BC to amend Section 801 of the Local Government Act to enable the Chief Elections Officer to post a prescribed notice inside each polling booth, or otherwise inform voters at a local government election of the withdrawal, death or incapacity of a candidate; And be it further resolved that any votes cast for that candidate would not be counted.
Ministry of Community, Sport Cultural Development The Province of British Columbia understands and appreciates the concerns that local governments have raised about local elections. The Province remains committed to ensuring that local government elections are conducted in a timely and fair process. In doing so, the chief election officer CEO for each electoral area is granted powers under the Local Government Act such as ensuring voting places are supplied with enough ballots, that people do not vote more than once, and he or she is granted responsibility for any additional actions that are necessary for conducting an election in accordance with the Local Elections Campaign Financing Act and any bylaws and regulations under the Local Government Act. The Province is aware of the concerns related to the withdrawal, death or incapacity of an election candidate; however these circumstances are a rare occurrence in local elections. In the case of withdrawal, death or incapacity of an election candidate the CEO is officially responsible for notifying the minister. In practice, at the local level, a CEO is already able to post notices and provide information about a candidates withdrawal, death or incapacity to the public. The Local Government Act does not prevent a CEO from providing notification at a voting place, or anywhere else. It is currently within a CEOs discretion to keep their electors informed of the current candidates, in whatever manner they find most appropriate. Providing CEOs information on alternatives with respect to public notification could be suggested as a part of Local Government Management Associations CEO elections training that takes place during the year of an election. Due to the limited occurrence of such incidences, as well as the practical solutions already available to a chief election officer, the government is not considering any further action on this item at this time.